Thursday, February 23, 2012

At the Department of Education, Warm Snow Falls Up - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

At the Department of Education, Warm Snow Falls Up - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

At the Department of Education, Warm Snow Falls Up

As the Simpson family prepared to travel south of the equator to Brazil, Homer revealed some misconceptions. In opposite land, according to Bart's father, "warm snow falls up." Reading the latest press releases and speeches from the Department of Education, sometimes I feel as if this is where we have arrived.

For the past two years, the Department of Education policies have been roundly criticized by teachers. The latest response from Arne Duncan is a big public relations push bearing the title RESPECT -- Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching.

However, as in Homer's opposite-land, everything seems to be upside down.

In his speech launching the project last week, Secretary Duncan laid out what he feels are